Kemal Kılıçdaroğlu, former chair of the main opposition Republican People’s Party (CHP), was sentenced to 11 months and 20 days in prison by a court in the southern city of Mersin on Tuesday, on charges of insulting the president. The sentence was suspended and subject to appeal.
The lawsuit goes back to 2013, when President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan was serving as prime minister and Kılıçdaroğlu was in the third year of his 13-year tenure in Türkiye’s oldest party. The opposition leader was accused of insulting Erdoğan during a rally in Mersin. Kılıçdaroğlu did not attend Tuesday’s hearing while his lawyer participated in the hearing via videolink. The judge ruled for a suspended sentence on charges of insulting a public official. Kılıçdaroğlu’s lawyer will take the verdict to a higher court of appeal, which may overturn it.
The veteran politician lost to Erdoğan in a run-off in the 2023 presidential election. He was later replaced as party leader by Özgür Özel, who is now accused of buying votes in the November 2023 intra-party election, where he defeated Kılıçdaroğlu.
Kılıçdaroğlu is still seen as harboring ambitions to return to the CHP leadership. Media outlets recently reported that he was in talks with people still loyal to him in the party to take over the leadership. A hearing in May over vote-buying allegations may conclude with a verdict of “absolute nullification” of the Özel administration. This, in turn, will require the appointment of a trustee to the party leadership. Kılıçdaroğlu has earlier signalled that he was ready to be a trustee.
